Dan Bricklin is a software pioneer, the co-creator of the spreadsheet program VisiCalc, and Harvard Business School-trained entrepreneur who speaks with Halley on a wide range of subjects.

They start off with Dan's studies at MIT, his move into industry, working for DEC in the 1970's, his return to school at Harvard, founding his company Software Arts with Bob Frankston and how they developed the spreadsheet that replaced the sliderule.

Halley asks Dan to comment on three essays he wrote and posted on his blog, "Software That Lasts 200 Years", "What People Will Pay For", "What is RSS?"

Dan talks with Halley about how it was to be a Boston blogger not attending the Democratic National Convention in July 2004, as both of them chose to watch this event from the sidelines.

They conclude with a discussion of how tools are so often defined by users and how Dan's early choice to work in industry and attend business school, instead of go a more traditional route into computer science, has always kept him aware of the user.

Dan's insights on how simple tools and simple applications can succeed far beyond more specifically targetted programs ends the discussion.

This program is part of the Memory Lane series featuring Halley Suitt.